The once-popular Canadian strum-rock quartet Barenaked Ladies sought to re-energize an aging fan
base during a 90-minute show at LC Pavilion last night.

But the band — thicker, grayer and far-less charming than they seemed at the turn of the
millennium — fell victim to a classic case of upstaging by their preceding bands, Guster and Ben
Folds Five.

The result was a dreadfully dull display, as if somebody booked the wrong wedding band.

Audience members, who paid $40 per ticket, clearly were let down. The packed amphitheater only
offered a few half-hearted cheers and dull rounds of applause. Some people even began trickling out
halfway through.

Unfortunately for them, Barenaked Ladies aren’t old or celebrated enough to be a relic like
Pearl Jam. The fact is, they never were that cherished in the first place.

Arguably, the group peaked when its hit song
One Week was featured during the end credits of
American Pie in 1999. Even that sure-fire pleaser didn't stick; most stood with their arms
folded for all two minutes and fifty-five seconds of it.

The only genuine excitement came when they played the theme for CBS’
The Big Bang Theory, and an awkward medley near the end that included covers of Macklemore
& Ryan Lewis’
Thrift Shop And Taylor Swift’s
I Knew You Were Trouble.

But comparatively, playing a packed venue five years after releasing a children’s album to keep
food on the table isn’t bad. There’s nowhere to go but up.

Clouds dissolved into clear skies as Ben Folds Five began its set, and the band was met with a
standing ovation and roaring cheers.

The ironically-named trio captivated the crowd for its hourlong set, and it was difficult not to
think they should have headlined the tour instead.

The group’s successful performance, as always, was credit to lead man Ben Folds’ ruthless
rockabilly piano and angelic falsetto.

That sound was daring when the band formed in the early 1990s, when grunge bands like Nirvana
ruled the world and CDs were the future. Impressively, Folds didn’t seem to have lost any talent
since then, delivering well-known hits such as
Landed and
Erase Me with precision and force.

True to his style, Folds was self-deprecating: “the last time we played in Columbus was 1967,”
he told the mostly middle-aged crowd. “I’m sure you’re all old enough to remember it.”